Silver Spring girl wins Kohl’s scholarship

Melia Gayaldo, 9, of Silver Spring received a $1,000 scholarship for her higher education from the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship program.

Melia won in recognition of her community service project, Warm Hands, Warm Heart. She collected more than 480 pairs of gloves, 100 pairs of socks, 50 scarves and hundreds of travel-sized toiletries, which were donated to various local organizations dedicated to helping those in need.

Contest winners were chosen based on initiative, leadership, generosity, and project benefits and outcome. Each regional-level winner qualifies for one of Kohl’s 10 national scholarships, which will be announced by the end of July. National winners will each receive a total of $10,000 in scholarships and Kohl’s will donate $1,000 to a nonprofit in each national winner’s behalf.